And he's just scored his millionth visitor.

Posted by: Ace at 07:20 AM | Comments (1)
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Reason prevails... for the moment.

Posted by: Ace at 06:59 AM | Comments (1)
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It's the first thing that pops up when you click on their url.

The college president takes a firm stand on first amendment rights... for the professor, not for the student who Daly attempted to silence.

Dr. Austin, college president stated, "I firmly believe every employee and student has first amendment rights, no matter how repugnant I personally find Mr. Daly's statements. Our attorneys have advised us of our obligation to follow state laws, board policies, and college due process in regards to any personnel matter. We are now investigating this matter further."

Thanks to Tony.

Posted by: Ace at 06:54 AM | Comments (33)
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I haven't been this shocked since Robert Downey Jr. violated his parole:

One of France's most distinguished diplomats has confessed to an investigating judge that he accepted oil allocations from Saddam Hussein, it emerged yesterday.

Jean-Bernard Mérimée is thought to be the first senior figure to admit his role in the oil-for-food scandal, a United Nations humanitarian aid scheme hijacked by Saddam to buy influence.

The Frenchman, who holds the title "ambassador for life", told authorities that he regretted taking payments amounting to $156,000 (then worth about £108,000) in 2002.

The money was used to renovate a holiday home he owned in southern Morocco. At the time, Mr Mérimée was a special adviser to Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general.

Another surprise.

How's this for refreshing, if ugly, candor?

But he also said that the payments were made in recompense for work he had done on Iraq's behalf. "All trouble is worth a wage," he is reported to have said.

You read that right. His defense is against bribery charges is that he really earned those bribes.

The American press is forever flagellating itself for not reporting more on foreign news. (Actually, they half flagellate themselves and half flagellate the public for not caring enough to make such stories worth pursuing.)

And yet, we have a huge, juicy scandal about real corruption in a major quasi-governmental world body that is of great interest to many Americans.

And still-- scarcely any coverage from the MSM.

The MSM likes reporting on pretty minor stories that hurt Bush, like John Bolton throwing sharp elbows and alienating the UN. But when it comes to the UN and their favorite rogue nation, France, they're pretty goddamned protective, ain't they?

Posted by: Ace at 06:51 AM | Comments (3)
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This guy.

A recap:

Geoffrey Huish, 31, performed the impromptu self-surgery in February when his beloved Wales beat world champions England.

After performing the deed, Mr Huish put his severed anatomy in a bag and took them to his local social club to show fellow fans.

Why'd he do it? Well, he's still not really sure.

A rugby fan who cut out his testicles with wire cutters to mark a Wales victory is at a loss to explain why he did it.

He's also at a loss to reproduce by natural means.

You know, we all have silly ideas like this. "If I get this promotion, I'll burn down the office just to show how much I appreciate it." Or, "Jesus, this coffee is so good I think I'll stick my hand into this industrial saw and maim myself." Or, "I really love it when the leaves turn color. I love the autumn so much that, damnit, I'm going to sell myself into degrading Thai gay prostitution and then wind up getting slashed to death under a bridge abutment."

The only thing separating him from a lot of us is follow-through. And for that he should be praised.

Related: Man Mistakes Penis For Chicken-Neck, Cuts It Off, Feeds It To Dog.

Posted by: Ace at 06:36 AM | Comments (14)
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Defection of Hawkish Dennis Kucinich Signals Shift In Public Sentiment On War

EXCLUSIVE. MUST CREDIT ACE.

W A S H I N G T O N -- Moderate, formerly pro-war ex-Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich shocked the Bush Administration yesterday by announcing his withdrawal of support for the war -- and his support of a withdrawal.

Washington media was abuzz about the defection. One ABCNews reporter noted that Kucinich has previously made "literally dozens" of speeches in which he showed his strong support for the war by not mentioning at all, choosing instead to rail against Walmart, Bush's tax cuts, or the war in Afghanistan.

Immediately dubbing the Patton-like figure "Bomber" Kucinich, the Washington press corps -- not all of whom have yet been diagnosed as mentally retarded -- speculated as to the ramifications of what they are calling "the Kucinich Moment."

The announcement couldn't come at a worse time for the Bush Administration, as Thurdsday is traditionally the day Washington reporters are allowed out of their assisted-living group homes to engage in "Esteem Activities" and "Adventure Walks," such as travelling to the local Popeye's chicken.

Reporters took a break from painting with watercolors to join the frenzy. A grizzled veteran of the Washington media paused as he sipped from his Juice Box and hinted darkly that it's all over for Bush. He then began screaming "I'm smaaaaaahhht! I'm smaaahhht!" like Fredo in The Godfather Part II until he was sedated with a retard-strength tranq gun.

White House staffers scrambled to contain the damage. Some commentators "questioned the timing" that Bush announced a Very Special T-Ball tournament for the weekend. The White House communications office admitted it had been caught flat-footed and had no idea how to push back against the media firestorm, but that the old methods -- ice cream and balloons -- might not be enough this time.

"If you've lost Dennis Kucinich, you've lost the heartland," one CBS reporter said as he ate a sandwich consisting of turkey, swiss, and a bowling shoe. He then offered his opinion that "Dinosaurs are neat."

Posted by: Ace at 05:50 AM | Comments (14)
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Steven Hayes is working on what would be, were our media not so hoplessly partisan, a major story:

Recently discovered Iraqi documents now being translated by U.S. intelligence analysts indicate that Saddam Hussein's government made extensive plans to hide Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. invasion in March 2003 - and had deep ties to al Qaida before the 9/11 attacks.

The explosive evidence was discovered among "millions of pages of documents" unearthed by the Iraq Survey Group weapons search team, reports the Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes.

In the magazine's Nov. 21 issue, Hayes reveals that the document cache now being examined contains "a thick stew of reports and findings from a variety of [Iraqi] intelligence agencies and military units."

Though the Pentagon has so far declined to make the bombshell papers public, Hayes managed to obtain a list of titles on the reports.

...

Still other reports suggest that Iraq's ties to al Qaida were far deeper than previously known, featuring headlines like:

• Secret Meeting with Taliban Group Member and Iraqi Government (Nov. 2000)

...

• Possible al Qaeda Terror Members in Iraq

...

• [Iraqi Intelligence Service] report on Taliban-Iraq Connections Claims

• Money Transfers from Iraq to Afghanistan

While the document titles sound stunning enough to turn the Iraq war debate on its head, Hayes cautions that it's hard to know for certain until the full text is available.

...

Hayes also notes that an additional treasure trove of evidence on Saddam Hussein's support for al Qaida may be lost forever.

"When David Kay ran the Iraq Survey Group searching for weapons of mass destruction, he instructed his team to ignore anything not directly related to the regime's WMD efforts," he reports.

"As a consequence, documents describing the regime's training and financing of terrorists were labeled 'No Intelligence Value' and often discarded, according to two sources."

Thanks to Mark.

Posted by: Ace at 05:26 AM | Comments (21)
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Colin Powell says "I'm not deep throat." Other State Department officials refuse comment.

Wouldn't it be sweet. Remember, Novak said his original source was "no partisan gunslinger." That would seem to indicate it wasn't one of the White House's top guys, who are, of course, "partisan gunslingers."

It's probably too much to ask that it turn out to be some liked-by-liberals guy at State, but that does seem to be a likely place for finding non-partisans who might have known.

And then there's always the possibility that it's George Tenet or an underling.

More here (link to Free Republic excerpt; full article requires WSJ subscription).

The range of current and former administration officials who may have identified a CIA agent to the Washington Post's Bob Woodward narrowed as numerous officials denied...

Vice President Dick Cheney isn't believed to have talked to Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald since last year, nor has he given a waiver to Mr. Woodward. That removes him as Mr. Woodward's source. Also ruled out are President Bush... and Dan Bartlett...

Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of defense for policy, said he didn't talk to Mr. Woodward about Mr. Wilson and his wife, as did Carl Ford Jr., former assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research. A spokesman for former CIA Director George Tenet and his former deputy, John McLaughlin, said neither provided that information...

One official among those who knew of Ms. Plame's identify is former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. He was out of the country and hasn't responded to recent requests for comment on this subject...

Posted by: Ace at 05:04 AM | Comments (3)
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Were I a communist I might rejoice that Islamofascism is crumbling due to its own nternal contradictions:

Iran is facing political paralysis as its newly elected president purges government institutions, bringing accusations that he is undertaking a coup d'état.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's clearout of his opponents began last month but is more sweeping than previously understood and has reached almost every branch of government, the Guardian has learned. Dozens of deputy ministers have been sacked this month in several government departments, as well the heads of the state insurance and privatisation organisations. Last week, seven state bank presidents were dismissed in what an Iranian source described as "a coup d'état".

An informed Iranian source with first-hand knowledge of all the main political and clerical figures in the country said: "Ahmadinejad is defying everybody. He does whatever he wants and considers it to be right. This is not how things are done in Iran."

Posted by: Ace at 08:40 PM | Comments (10)
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And he tries to squelch free speech on campus to boot.

But don't question his patriotism. Don't you dare.

Posted by: Ace at 06:10 PM | Comments (35)
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